Arriving in Denmark {The Ascot and Kobenhavner Cafeen}

We arrived in Copenhagen on July 8th in the afternoon, after a ten hour flight with very little sleep (some of us less than others) and a nine hour time change... so after checking into our hotel (The Ascot) we set straight out into the city to resist the urge to take a nap. Our goal was to make it to an 8:00 pm local time bedtime. We walked around Stroget and had dinner at Kobenhavner Cafeen on Badstuestraede.

my dinner - fiskefillet med pommes frites og remoulade

I could tell my Danish-born husband was happy to be back... this is what he ate - the flaeskesteg (with lots of potatoes and cabbage)

We couldn't find anything suitable on the menu for my nine-year-old vegetarian, but they put together a nice omelet with a side of vegetables and some toast for her.

After dinner we slowly made our way back to the hotel. A large room like we had last time was not available at the Scandic Palace, so I found a new place on booking.com... a site I highly recommend. It is very easy to use and perfect for our situation where I am booking for five people. I've been so frustrated using other sites when, upon filling in the form, keep receiving the message: "exceeds max children" "exceeds max children" "exceeds max children". Booking.com lets me "exceed max children" and just finds something for me. In Italy, we had adjoining rooms in Castellammare di Stabia and two next to each other in Arezzo. In Copenhagen, they found us a lovely suite of rooms in The Ascot Hotel. It is a great location - we could walk to Stroget easily. Booking.com took a credit card number to reserve but I was not charged by them and there weren't any fees. We were given confirmation numbers, everything went smoothly, and we were charged exactly what the site said we would be by the hotels.

Here are some pictures of The Ascot... I will definitely look to this place for our next visit to Denmark. Our apartment had a large, nicely decorated living room, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a large kitchen with a little deck off of it. Very nice.

This is the hotel bar, off the lobby. Very cozy -- or hyggelig -- as they would say in Denmark. There is a separate restaurant also.

I'll have some shopping snaps from Stroget up next. Happy Tuesday!

xoxo

Princess Mary takes her son to school

**update 11/25/11**

The dress is Hugo Boss. I found it on the blog Stylish Mary, thank you!

The Duchess of Cambridge's outfit choices are quite the buzz these days (What Kate Wore /@whatkatewore is one of my faves to check in on) ...but here in the US we don't hear as much about what HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark is wearing. She puts together some beautiful ensembles.

Today was her son Christian's first day of school and here are a couple pics of her outfit for the occasion... I love the gray flats (Lanvin?) and light, flowy dress, belted. Anyone recognize designers?

Getty photo from Huffington Post

Getty photo from Huffington Post

xoxo

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {Danish Bicycles}

OK. I just had to comment on this one. Bicycles are all over the place in Denmark and a common means of transportation for people young and old. The first four pics (I took these all in July) are so typically Danish... but I'd never seen anything quite like this red number. One seat with a steering wheel and six more with only pedals and a bar to hang on. Note the bucket in the center with what looks to be a bottle of champagne.

Pics from this trip's first couple days in Copenhagen up next.

xoxo

What I Wore {Italy Part II}

Here is Italy, Part II... some of what I wore when we stayed in Castellammare di Stabia and visited some of the amazing archeological ruins in the area and spent time on the coast.

For walking around Paestum:

Target Mossimo Supply Co. T in Oxford Blue, Loft chinos, Tretorns from Lands' End

Dinner one night at our hotel:

Benetton dress (purchased in Italy), Loft cardi, Prada wedge sandals

For Pompeii:

F21 maxi dress, BR Miracles

I added this Nordstrom scarf because I felt the top of the dress was a little low cut... but it made no sense to wear once we started walking around as it was hot, hot, hot.

Dinner in Positano:

LLBean linen blouse, J Crew Fiji Floral Linen Mini, Jack Rogers Navajo in Gold

Visit to Oplontis:

F21 Ikat Maxi Dress, orange suede sandals I had made in Positano (more on that later)

Day in Positano:

Antica Sartoria, Positano dress (top? cover-up?), 7FAM denim, Jack Rogers Navajos

I had an exciting delivery from L.K. Bennett yesterday... I'll be reviewing that shopping trip soon too.

xoxo

What I Wore {Italy Part I)

On this Italian holiday we were in Rome, Arezzo in Tuscany, and quite a bit near the Amalfi Coast... Amalfi, Positano, Paestum and Pompeii. I'll be posting the sightseeing, shopping, hotel and restaurant pics and info after Denmark. Here's Part I of Italy OOTD/N from Rome and Arezzo.

Sightseeing in Rome:

Old Navy Lightweight Boat-Neck Tee in Black Jack, Target denim skirt (couple years ago), BR Miracle Sandal

Vatican Musem:

I started out in this (J Crew Lace and Tulle Cami, Target skirt, Stuart Weitzman Donuts in Tmoro Vecchio Nappa)...

...but changed my mind and switched out to the J Crew Stripe Button-Back Tee

pink Hermes Royal Mews... too hot to have right around the neck

necklace is from Tiffany & Co.

Dinner at our hotel in Arezzo:

Target xhilaration dress (converts to skirt), Loft cardi, SW Donuts

Shopping Day at Space (the Prada outlet in Montevarchi) and The Mall in Reggello:

LL Bean Pima Cotton Tee in Navy, Loft Marisa Lean Boyfriend Chinos, Jack Rogers Navajo in Gold, Louis Vuitton Eva

Another dinner at our hotel in Arezzo:

Deletta top from Anthropologie, Loft cardi, Loft chinos, Prada wedges

Amalfi Coast area outfits up next.

xoxo

What I Wore {Denmark}

Before I get into all the sightseeing, shopping trips and fabulous food from recent travels, here is a quick run through of some OOTDs. First up, Denmark:

first full day, out and about in Copenhagen (had time to do hair because up early due to 9-hour time change):

Loft tiered top, Loft cardi, 7 for All Mankind white denim, Banana Republic Miracle Sandal in New Caramel

toted along my Modalu Bristol/Pippa in Shark

visit to Trelleborg:

Reiss Cinder Stripe Jumper in Grey Stripe, 7FAM denim, Hermes Royal Mews scarf, Stuart Weitzman Donut sandals

to Helsingor to visit Frederiksborg and have lunch:

J Crew Katie Eyelet Cami, Loft cardi, Target skirt (converts to dress... wore as dress later in Arezzo), BR Miracles

trip to Frilandsmuseet:

Zara Printed Blouse, ON tank, J Crew cafe capris in navy, Tory Burch Revas in Royal Tan, Stella & Dot necklace

Some OOTDs from Italy up next.

Happy weekend!

xoxo

Zara Goes Online for US Shoppers {and I tried on Kate's blue dress}

I'm still out of town but wanted to share the big news I heard on Twitter this morning, courtesy of @LuckyMagazine. Zara is going online for US shoppers (September 7th, according to fabsugar.com). I love shopping Zara (will try to post recent purchases in Copenhagen and Atlanta from the new collection soon) but the closest to me is Vancouver, BC... which I can get to maybe once a year. So this is happy news.

When I was in the Atlanta store recently, I happened upon that pretty blue pleated dress Duchess Kate wore as she left for her honeymoon (on the sale rack no less). It was too big at a size L and appeared to be missing a belt but I gave it a try. I added a belt from another dress and it really just about worked but then I noticed a lipstick stain smack dab in the front and decided it was not meant to be. I did buy a couple of blouses.

Starting next week I will have lots of travel, shopping, and outfit posts to share. I also was able to shop an L. K. Bennett in person (cue choir singing). It was fabulous. Reviews of three shoe styles coming up.

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo